3870X2 fan dying, options?

[DeathSniper]

Been awhile since I posted, but I've currently got a Diamond ATI 3870X2 that basically makes a grinding noise that drives me nuts. Pretty sure it's the bearing. I *may* have taken it apart and could have possibly put in some WD40 but that didn't seem to help - I was thinking if perhaps thermal grease or engine grease might work? Basically the fan makes a zzzzzttt kinda sound and when I try to game it gets even worse. I'm currently on a 4850 loaner so I have probably another week or so to decide.

Question basically is - does anyone have any suggestions on how to remedy this? Would this be something I'd be able to contact Diamond Multimedia for a possible RMA for? (Yes I know it may seem like a dumb question but I've only had one fan die on me through 8+ cards in 10 years which was replaced by an aftermarket one nor have I ever dealt with Diamond customer service.)

If there's no quick fix I'm thinking of grabbing a 5850 as I believe that would outperform the 3870X2 by quite a bit (I game at 16x10 & 19x12 on Vista 64-bit currently). The 5770 looks decent but I think the performance would be about on par so not really worth it? Or would it be more worthwhile to grab a 4870/4890 as they're roughly $100+ CDN cheaper? Rest of rig is Q9450@3.25Ghz on an Asus P5E-VM HDMI mobo with 4GB RAM powered by a Corsair HX620W and I'm looking to switch to Windows 7 probably within the next 6 months. I do keep my computer on pretty much 24/7 and game quite often so heat/power would be something I'd think about as well (I have a sound card as well so there's basically very little clearance for a 2-slot video card).

Thanks in advance for any advice/suggestions.

 

[hclarkjr]

boy does this sound familiar!!! mine did the same exact thing earlier this year. from what i was able to find out there is not an aftermarket fan for it. i ended up retiring mine and getting the card that is in my signature now.

 

[hclarkjr]

oddly enough, mine was a diamond also.

 

[lavaheadache]

WD40 is *not* a lubricant.

 

[faxon]

get a 5850 and call it a day

 

[Fraggable]

I might be missing something here, but why not RMA it? It costs you ~$10 in shipping and they replace the card/fan and who knows, maybe upgrades you to something newer if they can't fix it?

 

[Rubycon]

It's such a PITA when those fans act up!

Is/was the card really dusty?

 

[DeathSniper]

Yeah, I was suggested to put some WD40 so I figured why the hell not

As far as not RMA'ing, I just haven't really checked into it as I was going to see if there was an easier/quicker solution, but it doesn't seem like there as. Also, I don't have my receipt as I purchased it somewhere around 2 years ago and never bothered registering the card so not sure if it would matter. I think I'll try this route and hopefully it'll be accepted and won't take them too long.

I'm leaning towards grabbing a 5850 then and stuff this card into one of the others around the house when I get the RMA or a waterblock/custom fan for it.

As for the dust factor, the card wasn't particularly dusty - I normally vaccum and air blow the inside of my comp every month. I think it might have just amounted to normal wear and tear

 

[evolucion8]

The HD 3870X2 is one of a kind card, if you don't wanna fix it for you, then get a HD 5850 and call it a day, , and please install Windows 7, you won't regret it.

 

[Farfrumhumpn]

I've heard other people have used 2x VF900 Cu's on the card. That or you can mount a high flow 80mm fan over the intake slot for the blower fan, after you remove the blower fan of course.

 

[DeathSniper]

Thanks for that Far - I think I might be trying that in a month or two. Just got a HSI 5850 and loving it - I can finally play Crysis at full res without it chopping up

 

[MrBorsa]

Congrats

and i agree with Fraggable